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MASTERS TOURNAMENTApril 3, 2007Ernie ElsAUGUSTA, GEORGIA JIM BLANCHARD: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. We're happy to welcome Ernie Els. He's a real crowd favorite here at Augusta. I think all of you are aware of this, but let me mention a few brief highlights of Ernie's fantastic career. He's captured at least one tournament a year since 1991, won the 2007 South African Fairways Open on the PGA European Tour, has six Top-10 finishes at Augusta, including second twice. He's the Order of Merit on The European Tour in 2003 and 2004. He won the 2002 British Open in a playoff; a two-time U.S. Open Champion, capturing the title in 1994 and 1997. Ernie owns 14 PGA TOUR titles and 43 international crowns. Ernie, would you like to say a few words, and then we'll open up the floor for questions. ERNIE ELS: Thank you. There's not much you can say. I'm just happy to be here again this year. I got here on Sunday. Played nine holes on Sunday, nine yesterday, and 18 this morning with Gary Player, which was a real treat. I just mentioned, I think the golf course is in unbelievable shape. So far the weather is pretty good, but I hear there's some cold weather coming. But, you know, the course is in wonderful shape and we've got a great field. I'm just happy to be here, as I say. JIM BLANCHARD: We're happy you're here. Any questions from the media? Q. If you could follow up on what Gary Player means to you and what he's meant to your life and your career? ERNIE ELS: He's meant so much to South Africa through the years. I actually mentioned to him that his last Masters victory, myself and my dad watched it in 1978. You know, I don't know who leapt up higher, me or my dad, when he made that putt on 18 to win. But, you know, Gary's been wonderful and he's such a great human being. You know, he does so much outside of golf, helping people. He's been a great ambassador not only for the game but especially for the Masters. You know, he's just been a wonderful guy and he's been very supportive to myself and my family. You know, I regard him as a friend. Q. Could you see yourself playing in 50 Masters? ERNIE ELS: I would love to. (Smiling). Believe me, I've love to. But I need to win one to be able to play 50 Masters and stay alive. (Laughing). Q. Quite a pairing this morning; was there a highlight? Did you have a match this morning? What was the funniest thing Gary said today? ERNIE ELS: Gary is a funny guy, especially with a crowd. He loves speaking to the crowd obviously. We didn't have a match or anything going on this morning. I just enjoyed his company. You know, talked about some of the shots he's played and some of the victories that he's had. He kept talking about how Arnold Palmer beat him one year when on 16, Arnold missed the green right and Gary was in there close and Arnold chipped it in and Gary missed the putt and he subsequently didn't win the Masters. He said how difficult of a shot Arnold had and compared it to Tiger's shot a couple of years ago. It was just nice to talk to him. Also quite interesting that he won his first Masters in 1961 and his last one in 1978. So that just shows you the lifespan that he had in the game; 17 years later he won his last Masters. So he had a great career, and obviously a very fit man. Q. How was that arranged? Was that done awhile ago or was that done yesterday or today? ERNIE ELS: Myself and Gary, we've had this little tradition going at Augusta playing on Tuesday morning at 9 o'clock. Normally we have Retief join us. Trevor has joined us the last few years. You know, it's just a little foursome, South African foursome. You know, Tim Clark joined us this morning with Trevor. But I've been playing with Gary here for the last 10, 11 years. I've heard his stories once, twice, three, four, five times. (Laughter). But they still keep getting better, let me tell you. Q. Did he share any new secrets about how to read the greens or to win this year? ERNIE ELS: Well, I feel I really played nicely this morning. I struck the ball really nicely. I've had the week off last week. I was at Lake Nona so I've been working on my game. I feel kind of excited, not only using new equipment, but with my game in general. I hit it good this morning, and, you know, he just walked up 17 today and was like, "You know, this is the best I've ever seen you play. This should be your best chance ever." So nice words from him. And I feel I've been playing nicely. But yeah, he always helps me. I always ask him questions. You know, this morning we were talking about how he won tournaments, because he was the smallest guy in the field, you know, and in those days, they probably had the same effect as Tiger has on the Tour today with Jack Nicklaus. I asked him a couple of tips how he beat Jack every now and again, so I can hopefully use it against Tiger. (Laughing). Q. If you make the pretournament list of guys who are legitimate contenders at majors, is the list here longer or shorter than at the other three majors? ERNIE ELS: That's a good question. You know, I think experience, as I say every year, experience helps around this golf course. This course probably more than any other major really gets your nerves up. Your nerve ends really get into a tailspin here because the margin of error here is so small, so narrow. You can hit a chip shot a little too hard on 15 from behind the green, you can end up in the water. There's so many putts you can just misread, and you can 3-, 4-putt maybe. So you've got to be on your toes all the time. You've got to be really mentally ready this week more than any other major we play; that's including a U.S. Open. I would say guys with experience who have done well here, I feel those kind of guys always have a chance. You go through the list, you know, from Tiger to Phil to Vijay, Retief, Adam Scott, Trevor; there's so many guys. But, you know, end of the day, who can really make that winning stretch of holes. That normally comes on a Sunday afternoon. To come back to your question, I would say it's probably a shorter list on this particular major than other majors. Q. It's been ten years since Tiger won his first major here; what were your memories of watching that, and can you recall at the time what you thought, whether you thought that he was sort of -- maybe had a clue that he was going to accomplish what he would in the last ten years, or at the time was it a venue that really set up well for him? ERNIE ELS: I'll answer it from the back. You know, first of all, I've seen Tiger around since probably 1994. We actually kind of joked about it last week when we played the Tavistock Cup. I know I'm getting on, but he's also getting on now. I met him in '94 in Phuket, Thailand. I could see already there that this guy has got some game. We had a nice, quiet chat in '96 I remember at the British Open in the locker room and then he turned pro end of that year, and I kind of jokingly said to him at the Tavistock Cup last week, I said, "If I knew then what's happened now, I would have told you to stay at college for five years." But yeah, I've always seen an exceptional talent in Tiger and he's really showed it. You know, a lot of other guys have had talent, break-through talent, but never really showed it the way Tiger has. He's really come through more than I think a lot of people have expected. But he's showed a lot of dedication through the last ten years. Q. What Gary said to you walking up the 17th; do you agree with him? Do you ever recall feeling so confident coming into a Masters? ERNIE ELS: Well, I don't know about the confidence thing, but I'm sitting the ball really nice, or I did this morning. As I say, I've done my work. You know, it's on the greens. A lot of this tournament is played on the greens. I know a lot of the reads and I know where the flags are going to be, or close to where they are going to be. You know, I've just got to basically get the job done. As I say, I've had some good tournaments here, some good, close finishes, but I'd love to get my arms in a green jacket. Q. Just as a follow-up, the fact that most of the attention is on Tiger and maybe the rest of the attention is on Phil, for somebody like you, is that good? ERNIE ELS: I don't particularly care about that. If I was the odd favorite this week or nobody talks about me, I don't particularly care about that. I need to do the job. As I say, I need to play golf and I need to play as good as I can. Where the attention goes, we couldn't care less, believe me. Q. You have talked passionately about how much you would like to win this event; most everybody here thought that would already probably have happened, that it's a perfect fit for you. Do you now have to fight the idea to think a man only gets so many opportunities, is that still too far off to think about? Or do you look at a launch window that you have to do something here? ERNIE ELS: Well, I've had 13 chances at it, you know. I think this is my 14th event here this year. I've had a fair share of my chances and I haven't quite done it. As I say, it's not -- you're not only playing the field; you're playing the golf course. You know, at times I've played this golf course really well and at other times I've felt uncomfortable on it. Hopefully this week I'll be comfortable on all aspects of this golf course, including the greens and around the greens and everything else, and it goes your way. I've just got to keep going. I'm playing well, hitting it well, feel pretty confident. It's a four-day marathon. It's not a one-day event. So I've just got to stay the course and just keep grinding away, basically. Q. If it didn't happen, would this be a blank page in the resume? ERNIE ELS: Absolutely, totally. This is one of my favorite tournaments to play, favorite golf courses in the world to play. They run the tournament as good as any tournament in the world. It's just a treat to be here. As I said before, I'm just happy to be here. Obviously we're all here to win. Somebody's got to win. And as I say, I've had 13 chances at it. I haven't done it quite yet and I've love to do it, and if I don't do it, yeah, definitely would be a bit of a downer. Q. Would you talk about your putting in general. How is it and how has it changed over the last four or five years; do you feel as good with a putter now as you did in the late '90s? ERNIE ELS: Well, I tell you, these stats are all screwed up I think. I'm leading the putting category on Tour, and, you know, the last two weeks I played, Bay Hill and Doral, I felt like I putted awful, you know, but I'm leading the putting stats. I guess it's because I've missed a couple of greens by a foot or two, and I feel I've got a birdieable putt and I don't make it. To come back to your question, I've been working on the putter also the last couple of weeks. I felt very uncomfortable with the putter in Miami. Again this morning, I had some good things going. I'm starting to feel my old stroke so to speak. I know where to hit the putts. I just need to get the right speeds. But my putting stroke feels good. Q. Is there any residual effect of the knee injury as far as a bad habit you got into and you had to work out of or anything like that? ERNIE ELS: I did get into some bad habits, I would say, the last 18 months. You know, since the start of this year, end of last year, I really started feeling no pain or no effect in the knee. It took a little longer than I thought. That's basically 18 months since I had surgery. People who have had knee reconstruction, they have told me it's going to take up to two years, and they were right. I don't feel anything on the knee now, it's a hundred percent and I have no pain in it, so I don't even think about it. But I did get into some bad habits when I had problems with the knee, I got out the shot, stood up on it, and it's taken me a little while also to get out of those bad habits. I think I'm finally normal again I think. Q. What's it like to come to this golf course in a year where there have not been any course changes; has that become odd now? ERNIE ELS: I don't think there's been any changes. They haven't spoken about any. I think the second hole, the bunker on the second hole, that bunker is a bit deeper I think. And the front of the eighth green is a little different. But other than that, no. No more length. It's what it's been the last three or four years now. Q. Does it feel weird? ERNIE ELS: Feels kind of weird, yeah, but it's good. I think in the next 15 years, I'll sit and watch the television and I'll see the tee on 7 another 40 yards back; the 8th tee by the 17th green ... anyway. (Laughing.) JIM BLANCHARD: Ernie, thank you for being with us today. Six Top-10 finishes here at Augusta including two second places, I can assure you that there are an awful lot of people out there pulling for him to win a green jacket, so good luck this week. ERNIE ELS: Thank you. End of FastScripts |
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